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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Retirement Planning: A Primary Source of Money

By Doeren Mayhew

Americans greatly depend on just two major sources with regards to retirement income namely the Social Security and the Employer Pensions. However, most of these people won't be able to depend on these alone to render them income since Social Security benefits are becoming less and the number of employers who provide pensions are becoming few.

Hence for the majority, personal savings have turned out to be an essential part of retirement income.

Social Security
If you want to be entitled for its benefits, the system will require contribution from you tantamount to minimum of 10 years. The benefits will be determined on your calculated earnings prior to retirement and your decided age of retirement to start receiving these benefits.

These benefits have two sides. The good side is that it is being regulated to increase with inflation. The negative side is that the savings used in determining the support is limited or restricted. Even if it is going to increase because of inflation, the cap will make the higher income-earning individuals get a lower proportion of the earnings prior to retirement than those people who are earning less.

Once you reach your age of retirement than you can fully receive your benefits. The usual retirement age is 65 but for those born in year 1938 or much later, the age increases to 67 for those born after the year 1959.

You can have a closer look at your benefits by visiting the site of the Social Security Administration (SSA) at www.ssa.gov. You can also take a look at the SSA's annual statement which is sent to you within three months after your birthday. You can always request for a statement online.

Getting your benefits at an earlier versus later year
You may choose to start getting your benefits at an early age of 62. The only catch is that of course the amount is going to be lesser than what you will be getting once you reach your full retirement age. For instance, you retired at age 62 but your full age of retirement is 66, you will just get 75% of your supposedly benefits once you reach that age. You will increase it by waiting.

As an extra option, you can settle to delay your acquiring of the benefits of your retirement plans up to a year or more of your actual retirement age and add up to the amount you will receive every month. For example, your full retirement age is 66, then each time you go a year more beyond that age, then you are to get an additional 8% each month. Therefore, if you wait until age 70, then you are most likely to get 132% of your monthly benefits.

Better take note that even if you will receive less payment monthly when you decide to take your benefit early, over your lifetime, it would have amounted more. Meantime, you might get more monthly benefit if you take it late in age, but over your lifetime, you will really receive less. The choose is really up to you and will depend greatly on how much longer you will live. If you want to know more about varying benefits at different age levels, visit the SSA website.

Spousal benefits is also available
Even if your spouse does not have any earnings with Social Security, he or she will still get the benefits because of your record. Your children will also be eligible but this will depend on their age.

If you start getting benefits at full retirement age, then your spouse can get about 50% of your benefits. If you will take in your benefits at an early age, then your spouse's benefits will lessen too. The percentage or rate of the benefits they are to get will vary on when you will take your benefits.

The spouse is entitled to receive either his or her own social security benefit or that of his or her spouse, whichever is higher. - 23212

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